[youtube]https://youtu.be/kK9bGNNVwrs[/youtube] Yes it’s a tad late, but I have finally gotten my thoughts all together after the MotoGP race at COTA. From thoughts on riders, to the series, to the way that it all came together. It was a great event, but a war of attrition in the race. An amazing turnout for both MotoGP in the states and COTA in general. 

1. The amount of access I had compared to other races was amazing. For the top level of a form of racing, it was open to little media sites and blogs like ours. Unlike another major racing series, everyone was happy to help out and answer any questions that I had, all the way to access to riders and team personnel.
2. Ducati is so hilariously similar to Ferrari that I almost thought I was being punked. They might not always be the fastest, but god help you if you try to argue with a Ducati fan. Also, Ducati’s press hierarchy was hilarious. It was Italian Media, TV, international press, and then single event press. Which meant I got I think about fifteen words in with each rider.
3. Speaking of the riders, everyone was super happy to be back at COTA, and the US in general. Since COTA is the last US race standing on the calendar, more fans from all over the country came out. The riders did all lament the loss of Laguna off the calendar. 
4. The Yamaha riders all seem to know that Rossi is where the money is, and there was plenty of open talk about the Ducati deal that Jorge Lorenzo has signed. Even as the reigning world champion, he seemed at ease with all the rumors of him moving from the team that has been so successful.
5. I don’t see anyone beating Marquez around COTA unless he takes himself out. He got his first win here, and every other year has just looked at home. Cal Crutchlow talked about how Marquez isn’t making time up in one or two corners, but he is just that little bit faster everywhere, which adds up to about half a second. 
6. Behind Marquez during the race? Chaos. Rossi went down, Pedrosa went down, taking a Ducati with him. Crutchlow went down. My theory is that the new Michelin front tires are more knife-edge in terms of usability. Front end washouts were very common all weekend. I feel that with the new tires and new electronics that it is still a teething period. Used tires from practice often looked really terrible, like they were just about to fall apart.
7. And my last note is that Keanu Reeves is an awesome dude, who has a very cool motorcycle company. The guy couldn’t have been more excited to talk about the racing and the bike he designed. It was really nice to hear.